Shoe form



Patented June 2L i913?,

virnrrsn 5mm www@ P it; it

.Eigpieeten filed Apri! n,

This invention pertains to hollow forms 'er iillers et' that. type intended 'for insertien in e 'finished snee 'te preserve its lasted sienne ai'nile en es; iilntien or during-j trensportati-on L n mi er sterntre'nnd die principal object of. the resenty invention 1s 'to provide e. hollow i t and functional ntilitj'f. lll e of liglrt Weight and et resilient instefinl haring improved structurel Clinraeterisles Since forms this general type are used e n lnr Tn extent by travelling salesmen for J *11g the sli-:ipe of sample slioesy and inve tie nei-sens te Wlioin suoli sample shoes exhibited ere highly discriminating and r itiesi and insist npr/n impec-tien et the interior well es the exterior et tlie shoe, it is necessary, when usual forms are employed, te Withdraw the torni during inspection el? the siiee. lie Withdrawal ei'tlie pern'li's tlie siioe 'epperto Collapse, to some ex 't' le: :1. Ise that., et the very moment, glen it is most desirable ,to have the shoe neer :it its liest, its internal support is withdrawn and its desirable clmraet rl may time to e certain extent disappear. il/.toreorer tlie repented Withdrawal end reine"'tien of the forni tends to stretch tlie slice., particularly when the shoe is mede'ef the thinner and finer materiels. ln accord-- with 'tee present invention this 'dilll is avoided since the interior et' siioe is fully exposed to view While the forni is in gnosition therein.

lilies?. sliee forms, if hollow, are provided 35 willi, en intnrned bottom i'lange end when reir 'errns ere mede et slit-,etl materiel, molded sliepe, the tee portions of the flange his iiinits er Wrinkles which detract its appearance, increase the effectivev it of tile form at tile toe. and to some t interfere with its insertion in or willidriwel' trein the shoe. ln accordance with time present inrentien tliis dillienlty is -elin'iitested and time flange is sineotli and devoid o; )laits et the tee.

ne of tile most popular styles of slioe 'er ivomens weer is the strep pump. Hollow forms es previously constructed have mede no provision `for heldin;r the strep er straps in extended position; The present invention provides tor hold ig the stre or straps in desired position sind eo; e'fnplates tlie previstos et strap helding nirne adapted tEG Vthe process et malaise' EGEM.

be set and secured et any desired position or n relative to tlie form proper.

lis the lieel 'portion ot sueli thin Walled ferme is subjected te lle hardest usage, the present invention contemplates reinforcing the forni et this point7 the ineens employed being suele es readily to permit the lieel por tien to be made stift", non-collapsible Aand substantially nnyieldingg if desired;

ln the eeeempsnying drawings,

Fig. l is side elevation of a completed form showing' it just. et the eon'ipletion of Fig. if; is e. bottom View of the seme torni;

Fig. 3 is n ten View of tlie forni of Fig. l;

lille". e is en edge elevation et @bridge member er support, adapted te lie applied te the improved terni;

Figi- 5 is e fragmentary plan View te large seele of the toe. portion of e blank useful in n'inlingjg the forni;

Fing. is' e side elevation el e term similar to Fig. 'i lint provided with e plurality of stre-p supporting,` bridge members; end

Fig. Tis e side elevation et e strep pump provided with two straps and imi-:ing the ininrered form arranged therein.

Referring* to tl'ie drawings the numeral l indicates o. blank oi. sheet .materiel snitfilile for melting' tlie iniprored forni il'. llliis blank is preiemlily 'trzinspnrent und proton ably et Celluloid er seine i'nsiterizxl listing' generally similar elieraetertisties. For certain uses ity may lne desirable to employ eolored transparentnmterinl and in sneli ense l" prefer to color the blank just prior to moulding; or to color tlie forms after mould me'.

Preferably the tee portion l oi` this blank is provided with e series of notches f2 (Fig. 5). Blanks el ,liis diameter muy readily be mit trein sheet nmterizil by means e1 n snitzilile die and miler softeningr in any suitable manner-tile lilnnlc is molded by drawing it nrennd a last of substantially tile seine size und contour es that upon which tlie shoe 'as ined@ with irliieli the form is to be used. in my Patent No. `l.riS5,2S-l dated May i8, 19526. l llave disclosed :i process and appemtos nselnl in molding` blanks of sheet cel-- lnloid er similar materiel to produce shoe forms ett the general type to which the pres ent in :enti-,on relates, and reference mer be looA titl

had to said patent for further details of one desirable process of molding such forms.

In moulding the form it is preferred to turn in the lower edge of the blank to provide an inwardly directed bottom flange 3. By providing the notches 2 at the toe porL tion of the blank the flange 3 may be kept smooth and devoid of plaits or wrinkles at the toe portion. This is ver' desirable not only from the standpoint o improved ap pear-ance, but also since it provides a smooth surface facilitating the insertion in or vvithdrawal ofthe form from the shoe and also avoids any increase in height of the toe portion of the form such as is occasioned when vwrinkles are. producedat the forward end of the flange.

The' rear ends 5. and 6 of the blank are caused to overlap as indicated in Figs.` 2 and 3 so` that the heel portion of the forni consists of tivo plies, thus reinforcing and strengthening this part of the form. Ordinarily, these overlapping plies are left unconnected but if the user wishes a form having an unyielding heel portion, the overlapping plies 5 and 6 may be permanently united by moistening their opposed faces ivitha suitable solvent of celluloid, for ex ample, acetone, and subjecting them to pressure sullicient to cause the opposed surfaces to adhere integrally. Obviously other nodes of securing these parts, for example rivets, might he employed.

As disclosed in my patent above referred to 1 prefer to unite the opposite form at the ball portion by means of a connet-timev member 7, \\liose"`(`)ppositeends 8 and t) are secured to the flange t5.' Preferably, YAas disclosed in the aforesaid patent, this wnnecting member 7 is of two-ply construction and the plies are separated at opposite ends and straddled over the edges of the flange 3, being united thereto in an integral manner by moistening their opposed surfaces with a cclluloid solvent and keeping them in contact until they are integrally united; Preferably the'conc portion ll of the forni, heroin disclosed, is impcrlorate so as to provide a'very rigid support for the ianip portion ol the shoe upper.

During the process of making sheet celluloid its original rough surface is treated to make it smooth and glossy but in molding the hollow terms of the present invention this gloss to some extent disappears leaving the. surface dull and striated. After the form has been substantially completed I restore the smooth and glossy surface by dipping the form in a solution, preferably consisting of from four to live parts of acetone to one part of alcohol. lf it be desired to color the torni l prefer to add the dye to this smoothing solution. This has the effect of applying a thin coat of colored Celluloid to both the inner and outer surfaces of ,the forni. Ob-

sides of the message viously colored sheet Celluloid could be em-y ployed if desired but l prefer to color the completed form as just described since the exact shade desired maybe readily attained in this manner.

Sometimes, especially on damp days the forms become cloudy or veiled when drying from the smoothing operation and the desired gloss and transparency can be restored by imn'icrsing the form in a cleaning bath consisting ofthe vapor of a Celluloid solvent, for example ethyl acetate.

After the l'orm hasbeen completed to the p'oint thus far disclosed, it is preferably in sorted in the shoe with which it is to be used, the upper edge l0a of the form as originally made extending up above the upper edge of the shoe upper. The outline of the edge of the shoe upper is now marked upon the surface of the Yform in any suitable manner, as for example, by means of a knife point, penw cil or other marking implement and the forni is now removed from the shoe and the pro-- jecting edge of the form is trimmed down to the marked line. leaving the upper edge of the form as indicated at 10 in Fig. 1. This trimming may be accomplished by means of suitable shears, a sharp knife or a lining trimming machine, it being obvious of course thaty other trimming means may he employed and that if suitable trimming means be selected the trimming ma y be done without removing the form from the shoe. After trimming, the edge of the fr rm may be hulled, either by the use of sandpaper held in the hand ol' the operator, or by means of a suitable butling machine such as is commonly used in shoe factories for smoothing the bottom of the outer solo of a shoe. After trimming, and whether or not the edge has been buffett, the edge is lini shed by rubbing it with a celluloid solvent, for example, acetone, which leavesa smoothly rounded polished The form is now reinserted in the shoe, if it was removed 'for trimniing, and if the shoe be a strap pump, an arched or U-shaped bridge piece or strap support l2 is positioned in such a manner as to form a support i'or holding the strap in the normal position of use with its` free end huttoned or otherwise attached to the shoe.

This bridge or .strap support l2 is preferably of two-ply construction. consisting of tivo pieces lf3 and lil of sheet material preferably like that; used tor making the form proper, these pieces 13 and 14: being united except adjacent to their ends. Preferably this bridge piece l2 is shaped to conform substantially to the edge contour of the strap whichit is intended to support, that is to say, if the strap have substantially parallel edges as here shown, the bridge pieoe will also have parallel edges and be of substantially the same Width; on the other hand` if lll) fastened but about to be placed. over meeste the stra i have ornamental or irregular edges the bri ge piece 12 may, it desired, be shaped to correspond;

The members 13 and lli forming the bridge piece ere suitably bent or arched so es to hold the strep extended in the position in which it would he held the instep portion of the wearers foot. Since the end portions of 'the members 13 und le forming the bridge piece are not united, they may he separated is shown in l'iig. 4 to provide the spaces 15 and 1G respectively, which ere adapted to receive the upper edge portions ot the opposi'te wells ot the term. The ends or" the bridge piece having been stra'ddled over the edges ot the form, the bridge piece is moved bock und forth, from front to back of the form and angularly, until it assumes the proper position to support the strap in the osition of use. The surfaces of the mem ers 13 and 14 which engage the walls of the form are moistened with e suitable solvent or cement and the bridge piece is non' temporarily clamped in position `1n any suitable manner until the solventor cement uns set, thus permently uniting the bridge piece to the form proper.

Since some pumps have a plurality 'oi straps, several such bridge pieces may be provided. Such en arrangement is shown in Fig, 6 where the form F is shown as provided with two bridge pieces 12 and l2 respectively.

In Fig. 8 a pump 17 is illustrated having a. sole 18 and e heel 19. The upper 20 of this pump is plumped out and held in proper position by means ot` a torni F disposed therein. This pump is shown es provided' with e pair of straps'21 and 22, the first of which is shown supported in operative po sition by moons of the bridge piece while the second strap is' shown es i2, unthe bridge piece 12,

Vvhile l have herein shown a. full 'torni F adapted to'tll the entire shoe or pump, I contempiete that certain features ot' the invention might be found et' utility in connoction with part forms such as are com monlyprovided for use in the `toe portion only of a shoe, and with respect to the prooesshereetter claimed itis to be understood that certain of the claimed steps may be omitted or equivalent l.steps substituted therefor without departing from the spirit ot the invention.

I claim:

1. A hollow form adapted to fit snugly within a shoe, seid form beingT of thin and stift material, said materiel being transparent to permit inspection of the interior o ltunietitude to the parency of the :term permitting inspectionet' the interior oi the is placed.

fr. A hollow shoe form adapted to tit with` in e strap pump, said form comprising a port spncedirom the cone portion of the form for holding the strap in the position of use.

5. A hollow shoe form placed within e shoe, substantially from the toe to the heel of the shoe -and havin a supporting member oonnected at opposite ends to the opposite side wells of the forni and bridging the top opening of the latter, said supporting member being adapted to hold a portion of the shoe in the position ofuse.

6. A hollow form for use in a strep pump, seid form comprising strap supporting means extending upwardly from the upper edge of the form proper, the supporting means being of substantially the same configuration as the strap and adapted to underlie and to support the latter. l

7. A hollow form for use in a strap pump, said form consisting of transparent materiel and having an arched su port also of transparent material for ho ding the strap in the position efuse. l

8. A hollow shoe form consisting of thin Celluloid, said form comprising e two-ply arched bridge member of sheet material, the plies of the lower ends or" the. bridge member being separated and streddling the upper edges of the opposite walls of the form proper and being united thereto.

9. A hollow shoe form adapted to fit Within and to extend from the heel to the toe of a shoe, said form being of thin sheet Celluloid and open at its top and having an inturned iange at its lower edge, said flange bein smooth and substantially devoid of Wrinkles at the toe portion of the form, the side walls of the form meeting at its rear' end but 'being free and unconnected at the latter point.

Signed b me at Auburn, New York, this twenty-sixt1 da of March, 1926.

TILLIAM J. DE WITT.

shoe in which the form adapted to be said form extending 

